“[People] are choosing alternative ways of getting together and doing things. They’re not filtering their lives through the lens of these major social institutions like they used to.”

Josh Packard, a sociology professor at the University of Northern Colorado, never expected to be involved with the meetings industry. His research looks at why Americans stop going to church or being involved in other social activities — everything from joining the PTA to taking part in local politics. Packard got involved in the meetings world more recently when he realized that there’s a lot of overlap between conferences and other groups that bring people together. And, as podcast host Ashley Milne-Tyte discovers in this conversation with Packard, much that the meeting industry can learn from his insights.